Destinations Council Destiny Awards > Community Building

The Buncombe County Tourism Jobs Recovery Fund

About This Entry:

THE CHALLENGE
In early April 2020, Asheville tourism leaders were staring at a shuttered community and a 10 percent occupancy rate. Typically, it was nearly 80 percent.

The third largest employer, the travel sector is a significant driver of the Asheville/Buncombe County economy. By April, unemployment skyrocketed to 17.5% locally versus 2.9 percent in February. The Asheville metro area lost 36,400 jobs, with more than half in the leisure and hospitality sector. During the pandemic, this sector lost, by far, the most jobs at 21.8%.

Explore Asheville leadership and its board, the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority (BCTDA) realized the need for a lifeline to the many small businesses who are the cornerstone of the local tourism industry and represent the essence of the community. A singular marketing effort would not be enough. Federal funding was slow in coming. Instead, a strategic shift in thinking was required – one that re-imagined use of its Tourism Product Development Fund which by law must only be used for capital projects that generate room nights.

North Carolina is NOT a home rule state with ability to create local options taxes. Local bills are introduced and ratified by the entire NC General Assembly and require the Governor’s signature. The process is lengthy and sometimes contentious. Lawmakers were otherwise occupied with statewide pandemic needs during the short legislative session.

Undeterred, Explore Asheville and its board pursued a path to redeploy previously collected lodging revenue earmarked for tourism product and use the dollars to jumpstart businesses. The local lodging community was engaged to help shape a plan to reopen tourism businesses, restore jobs quickly and sustain Asheville’s critical cultural assets.

The result was the Buncombe County Tourism Jobs Fund, the only initiative of its type in North Carolina. The aim of this Covid relief fund was to preserve the diverse, vibrant local economy which makes Buncombe County a sought-out travel destination, protect thousands of tourism-related jobs in the county and provide businesses with the resources and strategies to help them reopen safely and ensure their long-term viability.

Campaign Strategy:

THE TACTICS – HOW IT HAPPENED
After countless meetings, draft bills and edits, on April 24, 2020, an agreement to jump-start the county’s tourism sector and restore critical jobs impacted by Covid-19 was announced. At the request of the tourism industry, State Senator Charles Edwards submitted legislation titled “Buncombe County Tourism Jobs Recovery Act,” which was fast-tracked and approved by the NC General Assembly.

On May 4, 2020, Governor Roy Cooper signed the legislation into law, allowing the Explore Asheville board, the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, to establish the Buncombe County Tourism Jobs Recovery Fund using the $5 million previously collected lodging occupancy taxes in the Tourism Product Development Fund.

The new fund was designed to help tourism-related small businesses and nonprofit organizations reopen through simple and streamlined micro-grants of $2,000 – 5,000 as well as full grants of $5,001 – $50,000. Eligibility criteria set forth by the legislation, including financial need, equitability, tourism impact, and plans for reopening in ways that will lead to a more resilient and sustainable local economy.

Mountain BizWorks, a local U.S. Treasury-certified nonprofit community development financial institution with a 30-year history, was selected to administer the new relief fund.

Staff and Mountain BizWorks widely communicated the application process. In addition to media outreach, a series of e-alerts in English and Spanish were distributed. Mountain BizWorks hosted webinars, live Q & A sessions, counseling sessions and built a web site for resources.

Nearly 450 independent restaurants, retail establishments, arts and entertainment businesses, tours and attractions, venues, theaters, museums, and breweries and wineries, applied for grant funding during the submission period, May 15 – 31, 2020 with requests topping $13.5 million.

On June 24, 2020, the 394 recipients of the Buncombe County Tourism Jobs Recovery Fund were announced at the Explore Asheville/BCTDA board meeting. Awards totaled $5 million and ranged from $2,000 to $30,000 to help tourism-dependent businesses safely and sustainably reopen, covering expenses such as payroll, supplies, rent, inventory, and more. From the idea spark to the awarding of grants, including plan creation, bill introduction, applications process and evaluation took just three months.

Results:

RESULTS – COMMUNITY IMPACT
The community’s small businesses – the heart and soul of Asheville – received an infusion of much-needed cash for reopening safely and sustainably, bringing back hundreds of jobs for local people, and restoring Asheville to the thriving community we all love.

Our partner, Mountain BizWorks, sought to meaningfully benefit a broad mix of tourism-dependent businesses, reflected in the types of ventures that applied for a grant. Of the 394 businesses that received funding, 63 grants were made to minority business enterprises, 232 were to women-owned businesses and 59 were outside Asheville city limits.

Breakdown of Sectors Funded
124: Restaurants & bars
102: Tours, attractions, outdoor recreation, agritourism, arts, and entertainment
84: Retail operations
24: Bakeries, cafes, and dessert-makers
24: Wedding and event businesses
22: Breweries, cideries, wineries and distilleries
14: Spas and wellness businesses

Six months after receiving grants, 97.5% of businesses have remained in operation. Of the 394 businesses funded, only 10 have permanently closed (although some of those businesses report plans to reopen in new spaces, or new forms, in the months to come).

The recipients of the TDA grants had 4,332 FTE (full-time equivalent) employees as of March 10, when Governor Cooper declared a State of Emergency due to COVID. By the time they applied for grant relief in May 2020, that FTE number had dropped to 1,360 —that’s 2,972 FTE equivalent jobs evaporated, a startling 69% reduction in the span of just a couple months.

Thanks in part to the TDA grant, many of those lost jobs were brought back: six months after receiving the grant, the recipients report a total of 3,341 FTE jobs.

The community will never understand the heavy lift it took to get a local bill through the state legislature during a time when legislators were understandably consumed with statewide issues.

The attached testimonial responses of recipients make it clear that, without the grant, some of these businesses would have shuttered permanently, and even more jobs would have been lost along with the places and cultural assets that make the Asheville area a much loved travel destination.

Why This Is A Finalist: 

The description gave a really nice set up and description of the situation and challenges being faced. The approach here explains that the challenges faced were more considerable, or at least explained in a more explicit fashion. They clearly explained the process and who benefitted and the results were outstanding. The judges really valued the breakdown of sectors funding and resulting benefits.

The pandemic year brought significant hardships and the Buncombe County Tourism clearly highlighted the impact its areas the specific industries in great need. Extensive research was from a legislative level to determine what was needed to help the industry survive.